Investigation the Mechanism of Wear Resistance Enhancing in PTFE/Nanoclay Nanocomposite

PTFE as a solid state lubricant has not a good wear resistance properties. So adding filler and nanosized filler in past 20 years are a common route to enhance its wear resistance (1). In nanocomposites and some of composites with a polymer matrix, transfer a film of the matrix to counterface and building a low shear film with lower abrasive potent is responsible for decreasingthe wear rate. Th is film is called transfer film (2). A hindrance for using microsized fillers is that micro sized fillers abrade the produced transfer film. But nanosized fillers when transfer to the counterface, filled the sharp points and make transfer film producing more convenient (3). Researchers that has been performed on PTFE nanocomposites with different nanofillers, reported two order of magnitude in decreasing wear rate. Th ey also proposed that reaction of PTFE with nano fillers is responsible for enhancing the resistance to wear. With this reaction, the laminating structure of PTFE is become finer, hence debris detached from the surface of the sample become finer and finally the transfer film producing would be facilitated (3,4). So in this article after incorporating the nanoclay to the PTFE and performing wear test, the mechanism of enhancing the wear resistance will be studied

PTFE as a solid state lubricant has not a good wear resistance properties. So adding filler and nanosized filler in past 20 years are a common route to enhance its wear resistance (1). In nanocomposites and some of composites with a polymer matrix, transfer a film of the matrix to counterface and building a low shear film with lower abrasive potent is responsible for decreasingthe wear rate. Th is film is called transfer film (2). A hindrance for using microsized fillers is that micro sized fillers abrade the produced transfer film. But nanosized fillers when transfer to the counterface, filled the sharp points and make transfer film producing more convenient (3). Researchers that has been performed on PTFE nanocomposites with different nanofillers, reported two order of magnitude in decreasing wear rate. Th ey also proposed that reaction of PTFE with nano fillers is responsible for enhancing the resistance to wear. With this reaction, the laminating structure of PTFE is become finer, hence debris detached from the surface of the sample become finer and finally the transfer film producing would be facilitated (3,4). So in this article after incorporating the nanoclay to the PTFE and performing wear test, the mechanism of enhancing the wear resistance will be studied